Theorizing space-time relations in education: the concept of chronotope

Main Article Content

Giuseppe Ritella
Maria Beatrice Ligorio
Kai Hakkarainen

Abstract

Due to ongoing cultural-historical transformations, the space-time of learning is radically changing, and theoretical conceptualizations are needed to investigate how such evolving space-time frames can function as a ground for learning. In this article, we argue that the concept of chronotope – from Greek chronos and topos, meaning time and place/space – lends itself well to reach this aim. In particular, we outline three features of chronotope: 1) its analytical focus includes the examination of the potential interdependency between space and time; 2) it allows us to examine space and time as social constructions, negotiated in dialogical interaction; 3) it involves the analysis of both the material organization and the discursive negotiation of space and time. We use examples from our own studies and from relevant literature to illustrate how these features of the concept allow us to examine the role that space-time relations play in educational practice. Finally, we draw our conclusions and briefly introduce the theoretical and methodological challenges to be addressed for a full development of the concept. 

Article Details

How to Cite
Ritella, G., Ligorio, M. B., & Hakkarainen, K. (2017). Theorizing space-time relations in education: the concept of chronotope. Frontline Learning Research, 4(4), 48–55. https://doi.org/10.14786/flr.v4i4.210
Section
Articles

References

Bakhtin, M. (1981). The dialogic imagination. Four essays by M. M. Bakhtin. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an ecology of mind: Collected essays in anthropology, psychiatry, evolution, and epistemology. Chicago: The Chicago University Press.
Brown, R., & Renshaw, P. (2006). Positioning students as actors and authors: A chronotopic analysis of collaborative learning activities. Mind, Culture and Activity, 13(3), 244–256. doi: 10.1207/s15327884mca1303_6
Cole, M. (1996). Cultural Psychology: A once and future discipline. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Duranti, A., & Goodwin, C. (Eds.). (1992). Rethinking context: Language as an interactive phenomenon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
van Eijck, M., & Roth, W. M. (2010). Towards a chronotopic theory of “place” in place-based education. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 5(4), 869-898. Doi: 10.1007/s11422-010-9278-2
van Eijck, M., & Roth, W. M. (2013). Place and Chronotope. In Imagination of Science in Education (pp. 133-162). Springer Netherlands.
Engle, R. A. (2006). Framing interactions to foster generative learning: A situative explanation of transfer in a community of learners classroom. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 15(4), 451-498. doi: 10.1207/s15327809jls1504_2
Flipped Learning Network (FLN). (2014) The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P™
Foucault, M. (1977) Discipline and punish: the birth of the prison. Vintage.
Hirst, E., & Vadeboncoeur, J. A. (2006). Patrolling the borders of otherness: Dis/placed identity positions for teachers and students in schooled spaces. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 13(3), 205-227. doi: 10.1207/s15327884mca1303_4
Holquist, M. (1982). Bakhtin and Rabelais: Theory as praxis. Boundary 2, 5-19.
Ito, M., Gutiérrez, K., Livingstone, S., Penuel, B., Rhodes, J., Salen, K., & Watkins, S. C. (2013). Connected learning: An agenda for research and design. Irvine, CA: Digital Media and Learning Research Hub.
Jornet, A., & Roth, W. M. (2015). The joint work of connecting multiple (re) presentations in science classrooms. Science Education, 99(2), 378-403. Doi: 10.1002/sce.21150
Lemke, J. (2004). Learning across multiple places and their chronotopes. In AERA 2004 Symposium, April (pp. 12-16).
Ligorio, M. B., & Ritella, G. (2010). The collaborative construction of chronotopes during computer-supported collaborative professional tasks. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 5(4), 433-452. Doi: 10.1007/s11412-010-9094-4
Matusov, E. (2009). Journey into dialogic pedagogy. Nova Science Publishers.
Renshaw, Peter D. (2013). Classroom chronotopes privileged by contemporary educational policy: teaching and learning in testing times. In Phillipson, S., Kelly Y. L. Ku and Shane N. Phillipson (Ed.), Constructing Educational Achievement: A sociocultural perspective (pp. 57-69). Oxon, UK: Routledge.
Ritella, G., Ligorio, M. B., & Hakkarainen, K. (2015). The role of context in a collaborative problem-solving task during professional development. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 25(3), 395-412. Doi: 10.1080/1475939X.2015.1062412
Ritella, G., & Ligorio, M. B. (2016). Investigating chronotopes to advance a dialogical theory of collaborative sensemaking. Culture & Psychology, 22(2), 216-231. doi: 10.1177/1354067X15621475
Ritella, G., Ligorio, M. B., & Hakkarainen, K. (accepted) Interconnections between the discursive negotiation of space-time and the interpretation of a collaborative task. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction.
Ryan, M. (2011). Productions of space: Civic participation of young people at university. British Educational Research Journal, 37(6), 1015-1031. Doi: 10.1080/01411926.2010.517827
Sawyer, R. K. (2005). Emergence: Societies as complex systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Silseth, K., & Arnseth, H. C. (2011). Learning and identity construction across sites: A dialogical approach to analysing the construction of learning selves.Culture & Psychology, 17(1), 65-80. Doi: 10.1177/1354067X10388842
Silseth, K., & Arnseth, H. C. (2015). Frames for learning science: analyzing learner positioning in a technology-enhanced science project. Learning, Media and Technology, 1-20. Doi: 10.1080/17439884.2015.1100636